The world is in desperate need for lithium supply. In fact, according to a new report from Wood Mackenzie, as highlighted by Oil Price, the battery sector will need nearly 800 kt. LCE of lithium to come online in the next five years. “The market analyst’s prediction is based on its own Accelerated Energy Transition (AET) scenario, which sees global warming limited to 2.5 degrees Celsius and which presents the idea of the electric vehicle market requiring over 1 million tonnes LCE in 2025.”
In addition, demand is only likely to surge with electric vehicle demand. According to Chile’s state mining agency, Cochilco, as noted by Argus Media, it “anticipates that combined demand for the metal will be at 1.79mn t/yr by 2030, as compared with 317,000t today — most of which will come from the EVs market.”
Fueling even more upside for lithium, Albemarle Corp., the largest lithium producer in the world, lithium demand could increase by 599% between 2019 and 2025, according to Grand View Research.